


All My Days I'll Know Your Face

by phloridas



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Fluff, Getting Together, Homophobia, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-11 02:34:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10453029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phloridas/pseuds/phloridas
Summary: When a new kid starts at Phil's school, Phil certainly doesn't expect him to be everything he ever could have hoped for in a friend and more. Can he convince him to let go of the past and audition for the school musical? And what about those feelings that somehow seem to pop up when he least expects them?Inspired by Dan and Phil's recent comments, "I really think that 14-year-old Dan and 14-year-old Phil would have gotten along quite well." "I think they'd have been friends." I agree, boys. I agree.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This may or may not be inspired by my recent Glee rewatch and obsession with theatrekid!Dan, as well as their recent gameplay of Phil's game The Mark of Oxin. (How amazing is that, by the way?? Dan's right, Phil is a genius.) Big thanks to Kirsten (cafephan) for encouraging me to write this, as it probably wouldn't have happened otherwise. I hope you enjoy!!

“How posh can you get?”

“Seriously, pansy, you gonna be sharing some tea with the queen or something?”

“Oh, I’m the new kid, I talk all funny and I’m a massive gaylord!” The three big footballers cracked up, causing some people in the hallway to snigger along with them, but most just scurried away. They had a small, scrawny boy pinned up against the lockers with a paper white face and wide brown eyes. Phil normally wasn’t one to get in the middle of things, but these guys were being complete chavs. What in their tiny little brains made them think it was okay to pick on someone else?

“Oi! Break it up, break it up, come on! Get to class, all of ya--I said get!” Mr. Jenkins, a maths teacher, grunted as he forced the large boys off the new student, who was now shaking slightly. “Alright, clear out, nothing to see here!” He waved his hands wildly, eventually warding off the rest of the students in the hallway--except for Phil, who now crept closer to this boy who appeared about his age, scooping his books off the floor and attempting to steady his breathing.

“Hey, is everything alright?” Phil asked softly, bending down to help pick up some scattered papers. He didn’t know what was drawing him to this boy. Maybe it was his terrified face, like a dog trapped by his abuser, or perhaps it was those mysterious pools of brown, holding secrets that Phil somehow desperately wanted to crack.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” he muttered, face now tinged with red. There was a spot just under his right cheek that burned a bit darker than the rest of his face. “I suppose it’s nothing I’m not used to, though. Oh God, there I go again, sounding like Winnie the fucking Pooh. I really need to just shut up, don’t I?”

“No, I think your voice is really cool. Honest!” Phil pleaded as the boy raised his eyebrows dubiously. “I hate my northern accent, so it’s really nice to hear something different for a change. And--oh my gosh--is that a  _Final Fantasy_ pin on your bag?”

“Yeah!” The boy’s eyes lit up. It was a good look on him, Phil realised in a fleeting moment. “Seven is pretty much the best game ever. You play it too?”

“Hell yeah!” Phil bounced back up with a new fire in his heart. “We should talk about it sometime! Do you have MSN?”

“Yeah, it’s danisnotonfire. My name’s Dan, by the way.”

“Ace. I’m snowdude. Um, on MSN, I mean. My name’s Phil. Nice to meet you, Dan.” He extended a hand down to Dan, which he gladly took, and pulled Dan up again. “Do you need help finding your next class? I’ve just got English, which is right over there.” He pointed to a classroom a bit down the hall.

“Actually yeah, that would be nice. I’m in English too. Room 205.”

“Hey, that’s my room! Come on, the bell’s about to ring. Ms. Walker will be on your arse if you’re late.” The boys hitched up their bags in sync and Phil led the way into the English room with a new skip in his heart and a feeling of importance in his chest. Dan seemed like a really cool guy. Phil was going to have quite a bit of fun guiding him through this new and scary transition--as long as Dan would let him, anyway.

 

\--

“Wait a minute. Let me get this straight. You said you’re making your own _video game?_ "

“Yeah! I’m using this thing called RPG Maker and it’s got a bunch of mazes and characters and some really ace dialogue, I think. It’s kind of like every game I’ve ever played smashed together. If you’re really nice to me, maybe you can be in it too.” Phil attempted to give Dan his best side-eyed glance, but knowing him, he probably just looked constipated.

“Wow, really? Can I play it when you’re done?” Dan’s eager face sent Phil’s heart racing.

“Yeah, mate! Hey that reminds me, I need to show you this thing I found online sometime. It’s called the Llama Song and it’s hilarious. I think you’ll really like it!”

“That sounds so cool! Send it to me on MSN after school today, alright?”

“Roger that, Agent 003.” Phil turned back around in his seat then, a smile bubbling onto his face and his pen tapping rapidly against his notebook. Dan really was such a cool guy. Not for the first time, Phil was incredibly grateful he had moved here. He finally had someone who understood all his nerdy obsessions and shared his music taste along with pretty much all his interests. It was like something beyond anyone’s power had brought them together.

As the two boys walked out of class, though, Phil noticed Dan’s downcast eyes and unmistakable frown. “Hey, what’s up? Shakespeare too hard for you? I totally get it, I can’t make any sense of that gibberish either.”

“No, it’s not that. I actually get Shakespeare really well, thanks to years of drama. It’s just...reading _Romeo and Juliet_ today reminded me of playing Benvolio last year and I kinda really miss my old theatre friends. It’s not fair, you know? Your parents decide to up and move for a ‘change of scenery’ or some shit like that and expect their kids to just uproot their lives along with them? It’s fucking ridiculous.” Dan kicked his foot along the spotted linoleum. Phil had an urgent desire to hug him for some reason.

“Oh Dan, I’m sorry. You know what, though?” Phil grabbed his shoulder and steered him to a nearby bulletin board. “Auditions for our school musical are coming up in a couple weeks. We’re doing _Beauty and the Beast_ , and I think you’d be perfect for the Beast or Gaston. You should sign up!”

“So you’re saying I’m both a hideous beast and a brashly conceited handsome man?” Dan giggled, causing Phil’s face to flare up.

“That’s not what I meant! I just mean…” Phil’s northern accent often grew stronger in times of distress. He wished he could just shut up sometimes.

“No, it’s fine. I’m actually not too sure about being in a musical, though. I love music of course and apparently I have perfect pitch which helps a lot with teaching myself piano, but I don’t know how good of a singer I am. Plus, I don’t want to be known as just ‘that drama kid’. That’s how I was at my old school and it was kind of cool, but I kinda wanna reinvent myself, see who I can be in this new place, you know?” Phil could see the longing in Dan’s eyes, though, and decided in a rash moment that he would do everything in his power to get Dan back onstage again. He had never seen him perform, but judging by the way he felt about it, that stage was where he belonged. Maybe Phil could join the crew and they could spend even more time together…

“Oh come on, I’m sure you’re fantastic. And hey, if you ever wanna practice with me? I’m more than willing. I may not be Matt Bellamy, but I can at least offer my house and support.”

“Really? Thank you, Phil!” Dan turned away without scribbling his name down, but there was no denying the hopeful smile quickly overtaking his face. “You know, I really am so glad I met you.”

Warm fuzzies blossomed out from Phil’s chest into his entire body. He hip-bumped Dan as they made their way to Chemistry (not for the first time was Phil glad they shared almost every class, what with them both being tenth years and all). “Same to you, mate. Wanna come to my place after school today? We can play some  _Mario Kart_ or something, whatever you want.”

“Sure! Be prepared for me to kick your ass, though, Lester.”

“Oh, you’re on!” The two boys stared each other down for a few intense seconds, Phil swearing he felt something inexplicable between them that made his heart rate speed up, but Dan quickly looked away with a snort. What was that? Dan’s mahogany eyes appeared so...inviting for that very brief moment. It must just be a sign of how close they already were as friends. So how come Phil would have given anything to brush that stray bit of fringe off Dan’s forehead, to experience the fire he felt whenever they made any sort of contact?

 

\--

“You ready, Dan?”

“Well...ready as I’ll ever be, I guess. You’ll be there, the whole time?”

“Yep. Right in the back of the auditorium, with my ‘GO DAN!’ sign. You won’t miss me.” Phil shot his friend his most encouraging grin.

“Oh God. You won’t really, though, will you?”

“Of course not, you spoon. I will have the most blinding smile in that entire auditorium, though.”

This seemed to deflate Dan’s tension slightly. “Alright. Thank you so much for this, by the way, Phil.”

“No problem. Now get out there and show ‘em what you’ve got, showstopper.” Phil pushed Dan through the back doors of the auditorium, following him in and grabbing a plush seat in the very last row. Dan walked with shaky steps to the other aspiring thespians, eventually composing himself once he grabbed a paper from the director.

Sure enough, Dan absolutely nailed his audition. Phil wouldn’t expect anything less. His monologue as the Beast was absolutely flawless, injecting just enough emotion without it being overdramatic. He didn’t even have to sing alone, just with a group, but Phil could pick out his voice like a dog amongst sheep, strong and clear and never once off pitch. And his dancing, which he felt even less confident about than his singing, was at least passable. He didn’t knock anyone over, at the very least, which is what Phil undoubtedly would have done.

Seeing his new best friend onstage instilled a massive sense of pride in Phil, causing his heart to swell ten times its natural size. There was something else in there too, but he couldn’t tell what. All he knew was that he desperately wanted to give Dan the biggest hug he could and never let go. So that’s exactly what he did once Dan finally made his way to the back of the auditorium.

“You killed it up there! I couldn’t see Mr. Anderson, but I’m one hundred percent sure he loved you too!” Oh God. Did he really just say that? “You’re gonna flatten whatever role they give you, I know it!”

“Thank you, Phil,” Dan smiled once they finally pulled apart. “I couldn’t have done it without your fantastic help, though.”

“Hey, you can always count on me to be your Chewbacca.” Phil did his best Chewy noise, making both boys double over in giggles. “Oh God that was lame, sorry. But also not.”

Dan just grinned and led the way out the back doors of the auditorium, head held high for possibly the first time since he had come to this school a month ago. Phil couldn’t possibly be prouder for him.

Sure enough, once the cast list was posted a couple days later, a big crowd was already packed like sardines around it. As Dan and Phil finally reached them, though, a few congratulatory hands clapped Dan’s shoulder. Phil didn’t dare get his hopes up until he saw it with his own eyes. There it was, however, plain as day. **Gaston: Daniel Howell** , was printed near the top of the page, and Phil felt sure his massive grin would tear his cheeks apart. He squeezed Dan’s shoulders in front of him as his fellow tenth year processed the good news with a face full of wonder. How adorable was he? Even after landing countless lead roles, he still felt blown away when he achieved what Phil knew was inevitable.

“See? I told you you could do it! Congratulations, Gaston!” There was Phil’s obnoxiously northern voice again, breaking out of him just as broke out of the sea of hopefuls. Dan peeled out with him, along with the brightest shining eyes Phil had ever seen.

“I--wow, thank you, Phil!” There was suddenly an unreadable expression on Dan’s face. “Hey--do you want to go out sometime? Like, dinner or something, to celebrate? Maybe, I dunno, maybe as a kind of date or something? Or it just has to be fun, you know, nothing big…”

Phil grabbed Dan’s shoulders again to put an end to his babbling. His heart soared up past the tall roof of the school and into the stratosphere. Was Dan actually asking what Phil thought he was asking? “Yes, I’d love to! A date sounds amazing!” He suddenly had the deepest urge to kiss those beautifully plump lips, but he couldn’t possibly do it with all these people around.

“Good. It’s a date, then,” Dan blushed and Phil felt a twin flush creep its way up his own face. They held each other’s eyes for a few giddy seconds until Phil finally turned away and led the two to English, just like the first time they met. But this time, he slipped his hand into Dan’s for just a moment and squeezed, transferring as much emotion as possible in that fleeting second. Whether he knew it or not, Dan was the best thing that happened to that large northern school. With a jump in his heart, Phil suddenly knew one thing for sure: tenth year was about to be his best one yet, all because of this dorky brunette fringe-haired boy beside him. Phil wouldn’t trade him for the world--and that, he realized, was beautiful. Just like Dan himself.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Kudos and comments are always incredibly appreciated, I'd love to know what you think! You can always find me over on Tumblr [@phloridas](http://phloridas.tumblr.com) where I can currently be found screaming my love for Phil's game from the highest rooftops. I hope you're having a wonderful day/night wherever you are, and if not, then hopefully this made it a little bit better!


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